Climbing The Equator

by Neville Shulman

  In 1534, the Spanish adventurer Sebastián de Benalcázar, hearing of the planned assault by Alvarado decided to set off from Cajamarca, head north and capture Quitus. Quitus was at that time being ruled over by Rumiñahui, one of Atahualpa’s generals, who eventually decided to destroy the city himself rather than allow it to fall into the hands of the Spaniards. After defeating Rumiñahui, Benalcázar founded the city of San Francisco de Quito built over the Incan ruins, to form the basis of the present capital city of Ecuador. Within fifteen years the Spaniards had captured the remainder of what now makes up Ecuador, and their conquest was complete. The country from the middle sixteenth century had become known as ‘Audiencia de Quito’, a title that naturally helped to fuel the continuing disputes between Quito, Guayaqul and several other cities. The Audiencia was considered from 1718, although with some breaks of a few years in between, as part of the greater Vice-Royalty of New Granada (Vice-Royalty of Nueva Granada), whose capital was based in Bogota in Colombia.

  The Spanish conquest and the stories of fabulous Inca riches gave rise to a frenetic gold rush and it was believed there were huge deposits of gold to the east, especially in the Amazonas region. There were endless stories of this pais dorado (land of gold) and many expeditions were organised to find it. General Francisco de Orellana, the Spanish conquistador, set off in 1541 with several hundred soldiers and several thousand Indians to find the fabled gold in the Amazonas. His men, however, being totally unprepared for the tropical climate suffered horrifically in the jungle and the rainforest and most died of disease. A much greater claim to historic fame was to be granted to him however, in that he became the first European to cross South America from west to east and to ‘discover’ and navigate the mighty Amazon River. The tremendous importance of this can be more clearly understood when it’s remembered that the Amazon is the second longest river in the world after the Nile. It actually runs from the mountains of the Andes to discharge into the Atlantic every minute some 15.5 million litres of water (3.4 million gallons), 14 times more than the Mississippi.

  Orellana’s epic journey has given rise to claims and counter-claims between the Ecuadorians and the Peruvians over the centuries and has caused a tremendous loss of life, as well as, unfortunately for the Ecuadorians, a considerable loss of territory. Because Francisco de Orellana opened up the Amazonas starting out from the city of Quito, Ecuador claims that it should have total and free access to the Amazon River. They have even coined a phrase, ‘Ecuador, Pais Amazonian’, (‘Ecuador, country of the Amazon’), which is blazoned and expressed in many ways, particularly at festivals and at other celebrations. Peru expressly states in return that Orellana actually started out initially from Cuzco in Peru, before then entering the Amazonas from Loja and Cuenca and therefore Ecuador’s claim is not valid. It is an issue that is not likely to be resolved, as too much is at stake and there would never be any solution acceptable to both countries.

  The Spaniards continued to consolidate their hold and control over the country and the indigenous populations, and many tribal ‘Indians’ died from a variety of European illnesses and diseases. Much of the land of the indigenous people was confiscated, and they were forced to work for the Spanish landowners who called them huasipungueros. This name was derived from the word huasipungo, meaning ‘at the door of the house’, to indicate that they had been allotted a piece of land set near to the main house. This land however, was usually infertile or in need of extensive and difficult work to create any soil worth tilling or using for growing crops. The further injustice was that if it then subsequently became of value then the land would be confiscated. Ecuador was governed initially from Lima in Peru, then from Bogotá in Colombia, although some would rightly say that it was in fact misgoverned, with many injustices against the indigenous people taking place.

  Spaniards born in Ecuador were called criollos and in turn they also felt discriminated against because those coming from Spain (the peninsulares) were always allotted the best positions and generally treated as superior due to their more immediate European connections. The criollos started to demand equal rights, and many an heroic protest was organised, though these were met with considerable repression and resulted in the imprisonment of several protestors and the deaths of others. One of the heroes of the movement, although coming from a mixed and humble background, was the doctor, lawyer and writer Eugenio de Santa Cruz y Espejo, who espoused the cause of the freedom movement brilliantly but still ended up dying in prison. He is always acknowledged as the one who really started the freedom process.

  Once the fight for independence started in earnest, it would not cease. It was a time for brave men to stand up and be counted. Following the invasion of Spain in 1808 by Napoleon and the overthrow of King Ferdinand V11, which caused shock and disarray throughout the colonies, a group of criollos seized power in Quito in August 1809 and demanded the cessation of the Spanish trade monopolies. They announced that they were supporting the restoration of rule under King Ferdinand. Whether that was a ploy or not, it didn’t result in rallying sufficient support to their cause, and the criollos were quickly ousted by the Spanish troops sent from Peru and Colombia, imprisoned, and sentenced to death. A year later the jail was stormed in an effort to free them before the death sentences were to be carried out, but the rescue attempt was badly organised and the imprisoned leaders were immediately killed by their guards.

  Further protests and small uprisings took place and even the independence of the Audencia de Quito was proclaimed. Brave but foolish attacks then took place against the stronger and well-trained Spanish troops, who were easily able to quash the rebellion at Ibarra in 1812. After further years of simmering resentment and continuing protests, a new intensive uprising was planned which came to fruition in the trading city of Guayaquil, and was led by José Joaquin de Olmedo. Olmedo was first and foremost a politician, and knew that alone they couldn’t succeed. Urgent appeals were therefore made to the two great South American liberators, Simon Bolivar of Venezuela and José de San Martin of Argentina, to lend their support both morally and physically with troops. They swiftly received the backing and encouragement that they sought, and so Olmedo and his supporters seized power and proclaimed independence on October 9 1820.

  A series of inspiring, though unresolved, conflicts followed, and one of Simon Bolivar’s youngest generals, the 26-year-old José de Sucre, arrived with strong forces to support the cause. He was victorious at Guayquil, though unsuccessful at Ambato. The decisive and historic battle was shortly about to occur however. On 24 May 1822, near to the slopes of the mountain of Pichincha, Sucre fought an inspired campaign and decisively overcame the Spanish army. This finally resulted in the settlement that the criollos had been longing for. It was certainly a very sweet moment in Ecuador’s history, and Sucre is always venerated for his supreme role in helping to achieve Ecuador’s independence. The Ecuadorian currency subsequently was named the sucre in his honour and remained in common usage until recent times, although the US dollar took over as the official currency in 1999.

  Simon Bolivar immediately took charge and set up the borders between the new countries. He founded the Federation of Gran Colombia (a title that would not particularly endear itself to the other member countries), which comprised Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela and Panama. The Federation started to fall apart within a very short space of time, and in 1830 Ecuador was the first to leave with the other countries withdrawing shortly afterwards.

  Another Venezuelan General, Juan José Flores, founded the state of Ecuador, taking the name from the scientists and explorers who had decided on the exact place of the Equator and who in their report had used the words, ‘las tierras del Ecuador’, the lands of the Equator. The colours yellow, blue and red had been used in the flag of the Federation of the Gran Colombia, and after 1830 Ecuador decided to appropriate them for its own flag. It is understood the yellow represents the sun as well as corn and wealth, the blue stands for sea and sky and the red represents the b
lood of those who died in the struggle for Ecuador’s freedom.

  From the outset, there were border disputes with Peru, Ecuador’s neighbour to the south and east. These disputes continued up to present times and have never been resolved satisfactorily, at least from Ecuador’s point of view. Peru at the time, and ever since, has refused to accept the original borders that were set when Ecuador was formerly called Audiencia de Quito. Since it was renamed as Ecuador, Peru insisted that it was a new country and should be defined by the new borders as stipulated within the Gran Colombia which enclosed considerably less land than those previously held. Both World Wars caused uncertainty and reduced trading opportunities, and thereby resulted in territory disputes being ‘settled’ in ways which were detrimental to Ecuador. The country also suffered considerably as a result of bad decisions and a lack of foresight by its leaders and governments. In 1916 the border dispute with Colombia, its neighbour to the north, was settled by conceding part of the Amazonian rainforest of Ecuador to it, part of which it then promptly transferred to Peru, in order for Colombia to be allowed free access to the Amazon River. This extra territory emboldened Peru to launch an invasion into Ecuador in 1941, which was only resolved by the intervention of several other South American countries as well as the United States. They all forced Ecuador to accept the loss of considerably more territory in order to ensure that Peru would discontinue the fighting and withdraw.

  Further territorial disputes and conflicts leading to more fighting have regularly taken place, even as recently as 1995, although there is now a holding truce between the two countries. No one knows what the future holds for both countries, as continuing political and economic crises and a lack of government stability have also dogged Peru. The size of Ecuador is small compared to most South American countries, and its territory is only slightly larger than the size of Britain, or either of the states of Colorado or Nevada, or about half the size of France.

  The criollos had initially won power, but there were further conflicts to follow between the conservative and liberal ideologies represented within the country. These continuing disputes were particularly centred on the three main cities, Quito, Guayaquil and Cuenca. Fighting, and even civil war, took place periodically within the country, although the nineteenth century saw truces, albeit uneasy ones, between the different factions. In 1861 the ultra conservative and devout Catholic Gabriel García Moreno seized power for a while, even going as far as to change the country’s name to the Republic of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. This was only temporarily tolerated, however. Moreno was vehemently opposed by the liberals and one of the most influential opponents was the journalist, Juan Montalvo. There was bitter hatred between the two men and, when Moreno was suddenly assassinated in 1875, Montalvo triumphantly declared, ‘My pen has killed him.’

  The late nineteenth century was also a period of greatly increased international trade, due to the increasing demand for cocoa and coffee, and this led to the city port of Guayanquil becoming more powerful. The Liberal dominance lasted until 1912 and during that period many considerable economic reforms occurred. A railway line was created between Quito and Guayaquil, which greatly reduced the journey time to only 12 hours by rail, as opposed to the 12 days by road that it had previously taken. The First World War however brought this progress to an abrupt halt, as trade diminished and further internal conflicts occurred. From then on, through the subsequent decades and the Second World War, there were periods of economic chaos with intermittent short periods of economic stability, with regular military takeovers ‘to restore order’. Along with much of South America there were a number of these military coups and this all contributed to greater uncertainty. The only mitigating circumstance of all these military occupations was that each was what is described as a dictablande (a soft dictatorship) rather than a dictadura (a hard or harsh dictatorship).

  Only in 1979 did Ecuador finally achieve a democratically elected government. The new President, with full democratic authority, Jaime Roldós Aguileras, was very well thought of and showed great promise as a leader but was tragically killed in a plane crash in 1981 before he could make any real progress. Unfortunately this meant there was still no economic stability and in all subsequent periods, no matter who was president, the country did not prosper. As an indication of the considerable turmoil continuing to take place, Ecuador had 18 presidents between 1897 and 1934 and 25 presidents between 1934 and 1988. A truly bumpy ride indeed!

  CHAPTER 6

  EL SUR TAKES ME TO THE LIMIT

  Iam now determined to attempt my second of the two Ilinizas. Although they can be attempted in either sequence, usually it is the slightly lower Norte that is climbed first and then afterwards the more challenging Sur. I arrange to climb this time with another guide, normally known as Marcos Jean-Louis to differentiate him from several others similarly named. He wants me to call him only Marcos however, and besides, anything else on the mountain would be too much of a mouthful.

  ‘Call me Marc if you prefer, or M even, although I’m not a James Bond fan and anyhow she’s a lady. I’m certainly not, and not even a gentleman!’

  His English is excellent, certainly good enough to allow him to make jokes in it. In fact I think of him more as Marcus Aurelius from Gladiator, as he is very broad-chested, with a muscular body that would certainly look good in a toga and he has arms thicker than my thighs.

  I met Marcos at the mountaineers’ club in Quito, and after talking to him for a while I feel that he would be more likely to take me through some of the more difficult stages of the mountain than some of the other guides that I had previously met. We agree to start out the next morning after breakfast and we are on the road by ten, with Marcos driving another beat-up jeep – it’s the preferred choice – which shudders over every bump it encounters. Vehicles in Ecuador seem mostly to be on their last legs, or should I say on their last wheels? As before, we travel across the countryside to arrive at La Virgen in the afternoon and Marcos parks his jeep along the trail more or less at the same place as Luis had parked. At present, the trail is empty of cows but there are the usual signs they were there recently, and I am sure they will return that evening.

  Although Sur is a more technical and difficult climb than Norte, once you have climbed the latter you feel that you are halfway there, and weather permitting, it must always be worth trying to achieve the second. Whether to treat it as a direct add-on to Norte or starting it afresh as I am now, it is obviously advantageous to climb Sur in two stages, staying overnight at the Refugio Nuevos Horizontes and starting the major climb from there. Doing it that way makes the second stage of the climb less of a rush and allows you to tackle any potential difficulties, particularly those relating to changing weather elements, in a more relaxed and balanced fashion. There are two main ways to climb to the Sur summit, and Marcos and I decide we will take what is usually known as the Direct Route.

  To begin with, the weather appears much more favourable than when I climbed Norte, but to the north-east the sky looks dark and overcast, and there’s a strong head wind. There’s no going back for anything we might need later so we load our back packs to the brim, knowing we can leave some things at the Refuge. Marcos starts off more slowly than Luis did which makes me impatient, and after a while I suggest that we quicken our pace. Marcos instead stops, takes off his pack, sits down and stretches out his long legs. He gestures for me to sit down next to him and, surprised by his action, I comply but still keep my backpack on.

  ‘My friend, what’s the rush? Have you another appointment or are you planning to meet someone?’ I shake my head, uncertain how to respond. Marcos continues, his broad face beaming out at me.

  ‘Well then, think about it, when will you come this way again? Look around you, enjoy, there’s a lot to see. Often at high altitude the slower we go, the more likely we are to make the summit. Anyhow there’s no reason to hurry, wait til you see where you’re sleeping tonight.’

  He’s right, of course. I don’t r
eply but get slowly to my feet and hold out one hand to help him up too. He sees I understand, grabs my hand and in one bound is back on his feet. He pats my shoulder gently and puts on his backpack so we can continue, at his pace. I breathe the mountain air in deeply and take a long look around me; there are two kestrels circling and swooping downwards to look for anything that might provide lunch. We continue to climb silently together but every time I see something special I point it out to him and he smiles a response and points out many things I miss. He has learned how much I dislike climbing on loose scree and tries to avoid it as much as he can, so we head mostly into the rock sections even though it’s a longer, more circuitous route.

  Our climb up to the Refuge without the pressure of having to continue to either peak the same day now seems relatively straightforward, and although it’s taken us longer than did the climb to Norte, I arrive feeling fresh and very relaxed. Marcos had already phoned to arrange our stay there overnight and book our two bunks. Mine, looking dank and very uninviting, is not one you’d relish the thought of spending more than one night in, but I’ll be using my sleeping bag to keep out any unwanted visitors. I understand more the remark about not rushing to get here now – the less time we spend here the better. The Refuge provides extremely basic accommodation, with absolutely nothing to do inside, so there’s plenty of time to catch up on my reading and writing. There are two other guides, fortunately neither of whom I’ve climbed with previously, and four climbers, of which three are to attempt Norte and one is going for Sur like myself. Every climber is from a different country and no one seems anxious to chat, all spending their time mostly reading. Marcos and the other guides know each other well and are soon engrossed in deep conversations from which huge peals of laughter break out every so often, echoing noisily in the narrow confines of the hut. I have my food and water with me but also make tea for Marcos and myself. I offer to make tea for the others but they seem to want to look after themselves. As soon as it gets dark it becomes more difficult to read with a torch, so soon I turn in and try to get some rest. It’s not easy to sleep as the roars of laughter continue well into the night.